Dear Mr. Watterson (2013) User Reviews

Let's Go Exploring!

[ferguson-6 · 5/10 · 7 December 2013]

Greetings again from the darkness. Two upfront admissions: First, I am not a comic strip historian. Second, there have been a hand full of comic strips that I have been obsessively "drawn" to, and Calvin and Hobbes was definitely one of them. Any fan of C&H would not miss the chance to see a documentary that might provide some insight into the genius behind the imaginative boy and his feline friend. Bill Watterson is now as famous for his life as an extreme recluse as he is for his artistry on the little boy and his feline friend.

Directed by uber fan Joel Allen Schroeder, we are presented with a steady stream of talking heads interrupted periodically by Schroeder's trips to the Cartoon Museum, Ohio State University library, and Chagrin Falls, Ohio (Watterson's hometown and the foundation of the Calvin and Hobbes world). Many of the talking heads are other cartoonists who remain in awe of Watterson's works. We get a glimpse into the business side as we hear from an executive at Universal Press Syndicate, Watterson's publisher. There is also a segment with Jean Schulz, the widow of Charles "Sparky" Schulz, the man behind "Peanuts".

Since we see so little of the actual published work, we lean heavily on the spoken words of those interviewed ... kind of frustrating when the subject is a medium of such visual relevance. Even more frustrating is the lack of insight into Watterson as an artist. Instead, the director rehashes what we already know from following the work. Watterson's "high art vs. low art" arguments are mentioned as is his belief that imagination and creativity are crucial to the good life.

By far the most interesting commentary comes from Stephan Pastis, known for his "Pearls Before Swine". Pastis not only admires Watterson's legacy but he provides insight into the world of artists who are constantly under the pressure of commercialism, and often find themselves doing business with those they have little in common with. He explains Watterson's vision and integrity in denying licensing rights to Calvin and Hobbes. Leaving hundreds of millions of dollars on the table by refusing to allow Calvin and Hobbes lunch boxes, t-shirts, stuffed animals, etc ... clearly shows that Watterson's vision was not about revenue, but rather about artistic integrity. The comparison to Snoopy selling insurance make the point quite directly.

So we walk away with no more insight into Watterson, no more insight into Calvin and Hobbes, but a clear understanding of the industry respect that the work carries. We all share the pure joy of reading and re-reading our favorite panels and not just the smiles they bring, but also the multiple layers of observation delivered by a boy and his tiger. It's reminder to keep your imagination active and never miss a chance to go exploring!

An act of deference

[Mr-Fusion · 7/10 · 26 October 2017]

There are guys who have been drawing comic strips for twenty, thirty years, and here's Bill Watterson with his decade-run on Calvin and Hobbes, redefining the artform before walking off the stage. It was essentially a mic drop and then a fade into obscurity. You can probably tell how deeply my love runs for his work, and I'll try not to belabor that point.

But this movie is only so happy to do just that, pulling artists from all levels of comic strip fame to pay respect to that legacy that the reclusive Watterson left in his wake. It's more than just communal appreciation and rightly points out just what he did to raise the bar and preserve the strip's integrity. And that word is the name of the game; because while Calvin and Hobbes continues to attract and influence, it's also left to stand on its own. This is a quality documentary, and it evokes genuine emotions. It's as much a love letter as it is an artistic statement.

7/10

I have a tattoo of them!

[donaldricco · 6/10 · 1 May 2017]

I love, love, love the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes! This movie, I just liked. It's much too long for the little "new" material/information it provides. However, I really liked the computer graphics that are in it, and it revived the love of C&H in my cellular structure! So much so, that after this, I'm gathering up all of my book collections, and reading them with my 9 year old girl! :-) Then, I'm off to go play an inning? round? quarter?, of Calvin Ball!! "... let's go exploring!"

O.K. documentary of a great comic strip.

[BlackJack_B · 3 January 2014]

Calvin and Hobbes is probably my favorite comic strip. Created by Bill Watterson, C&H was about a boy and his stuffed tiger who "came to life" whenever they were alone. His best friend, his rival, his voice of reason, etc. Hobbes always was there for Calvin. As well, Calvin has a vivid imagination with his alter egos Spaceman Spiff and Stupendous Man getting him out of the frying pan and into the fryer at school. His abuse of Susie Derkins and his parents was always fun, as well as his battles against Rosalyn the babysitter. It, like Peanuts, was a comic that anybody could enjoy.

Bill Watterson is a man I admire because his only reason for cartooning was for his love of the art. He refused to prostitute his creation for huge money and lamented the smaller spaces a newspaper would provide for his creations. After several breaks, he ended his comic strip on January 1, 1996 and retreated to private life. In a day when Justin Bieber claims he will "retire" but won't because his huge ego and opportunities will be too great, Watterson has stayed true to his word.

Dear Mr. Watterson is a Kickstarter type documentary directed by Joel Allen Schroeder, a big fan of Calvin and Hobbes who visits Chagrin Falls, Ohio to learn more about the man's early life and his work before hitting it big. He visits a library to see his early work and find what his influences are. He talks to some of his friends in L.A. who are big fans of the comic to this day.

It's the segments with other cartoonists that are of interest. Many of them are fans of Watterson but one, Berkeley Breathed, seems to be a tiny bit bitter about being seen as a sell-out as Charles Schulz, Jim Davis and Scott Adams are for marketing their creations to the max.

Some of the documentary is rather pointless babble about the true meaning of Calvin and Hobbes but there is some good insight on what made the man tick and how he operated. I felt it could have been 15 minutes shorter, though. Respectfully, Schroeder does not go looking for Mr. Watterson and honors his want of privacy.

All in all, not bad. I really can't see the subject being done better and not intruding on Bill Watterson's privacy. I'm grateful he was able to give the masses a delightful comic that never gets old or tiresome and didn't overstay its welcome, unlike Justin Bieber and any other auto-tuned "singing sensation".

Good, but not perfect by any means

[SmoreReviews · 6/10 · 9 March 2024]

I like the subject of the documentary, however, once 20 minutes had passed of the hour and a half, all that needed to be said had been said. I loved the behind the scenes looks into prototype art and realized I would much rather have watched a documentary about his work before Calvin and Hobbes, but alas, I sat through it. It was refreshing to see cartoonists I look up to such as Berkley Breathed and Stephen Pastis give the time of day to interview, but there weren't many questions to be answered, just sort of what most of us already know about Watterson dragged out. Don't get me wrong- I'm a die-hard Calvin and Hobbes fan, but they went for a "reflection" angle rather than the aforementioned "before Calvin and Hobbes" angle or even a "deep dive" angle.

No matter what you're looking for here, unless just hearing the words "Bill Watterson" and "Calvin and Hobbes", you probably will find very little of it.

Wasted opportunity to tell an apealing story

[JustHavingALook · 6/10 · 5 February 2023]

I have a hard time with these so called documentaries where most of what happens on screen are people talking talking talking, without a cohesive narrative thread that, ideally, keeps the story moving.

The main issue: there's no story to follow here.

Now is this is a love letter to Watterson (author of Calvin and Hobbes)? Obviously yes. And then?

And then not much. Yes, there is excellent footage at the archive, but not enough.

I'd have liked to see the young director we follow write an actual letter to Watterson about... something. Eg how come you disappeared, how important and great C&H is, how could you resist to the pressure of success without selling out... stuff like that and then he can take us on a ride to deliver the letter and/or talk to the same people he interviewed about what's in the letter. And trying to understand the human being behind the comic strips he created.

You know, some conflicts and obstacle here and there. Then, at the end, the director realizes something... something... that makes his life better (and ours by extension) even though he doesnt get to talk to Watterson.

Anyway: if you love C&H like me, you want to watch it.

Satisfying reflection on the greatest comic of my generation

[kmakice · 8/10 · 19 June 2013]

Dear Mr. Watterson uses dozens of interviews and on-site investigation to tell the story of cartoonist Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin & Hobbes. For a decade, the comic strip captured the hearts and minds of readers around the world. In the process, Watterson's personal vision for the medium raised the bar for artists everywhere, changing expectations and business practices along the way.

The first quarter of the film is a bit slow, but the quality and range of interviews the director lined up (thanks to financial support from two Kickstarter campaigns) more than makes up for the initial pacing. There is a mix of Watterson's peers and fans, although perhaps not enough of the latter to balance out his professional impact with the cultural one. There are a wealth of Calvin & Hobbes artifacts collected and discussed in this documentary, however, including many that trigger personal memories of growing up reading the strip on Sundays. The soundtrack by We Were Pirates is playful and appropriately reflective of the story of Watterson's work on Calvin & Hobbes.

Dear Mr. Watterson is an important film for anyone interested in the comic industry or creative control in the face of commercialism. It is difficult not to root for Watterson's appearance as the interviews mount.

Unspeakably boring

[Andertholl · 2/10 · 26 January 2022]

So who doesn't like Calvin & Hobbes? Nobody, least of all me.

I tried to like this documentary, I really did, but I just can't. It's an endless loop of talking heads blathering about how cool and awesome and original Calvin & Hobbes was. Thanks, I already knew that. Anything new in here? Almost nothing, if you've read Watterson's own introductions to his books.

Calvin and Hobbes fans will dig this movie

[parshallnet-754-159123 · 8/10 · 2 August 2013]

While watching this movie I felt like I had walked into a bar or café filled with comic book artists and fans and for 90 minutes soaked up memories, insights, and little known tidbits of my favorite comic strip of all time.

I'm glad it didn't feel like just a chronological, step-by-step walk through Watterson's career or the C&H strip. I'm glad it wasn't a filmmaker seeking out Watterson and knocking on his door for the rare interview (which was the biggest problem I had with the John Hughes doc "Don't You Forget About Me").

After the movie was over I wanted to go back and re-read my "Complete Calvin and Hobbes" anthology. It made me want to put Chagrin Falls, Ohio on my list of places to visit (during Autumn, of course).

It made me want to go take a walk with my dog in the woods (at almost 40 years old, I'm too old for stuffed tigers). Let's go exploring...

Lame Hipster makes love letter to himself rather than a real documentary

[UKfootball21 · 2/10 · 31 July 2014]

I love Calvin & Hobbes as much as anyone. Unfortunately, this documentary is just a narcissistic exercise for the narrator, who wants you to watch him reading Calvin & Hobbes comics. And, in true Hipster fashion, his "favorite C&H comic" is one that "nobody else" talks about - only he can "realize" it's genius.

The only interesting parts are the interviews with other popular comic strip writers who respect Bill Watterson and give some insight on his work, which is truly only Berke Breathed. (And curiously absent is Gary Larsen and Garry Trudeau, his only real peers, besides Breathed.)

There was no discussion about any attempt to interview Watterson for the documentary or why he declined, and very little exploration into his life. He grew up outside of Cleveland - that's it; that's all you'll get from the film.

Much worse, there is no exploration, much less mention of, Watterson's misguided take on the internet given in interviews during its early days that is laughable in today's context, especially when you consider what people do with their old newspapers. It's as if the filmmaker knew very little about Watterson when he complains that newspapers weren't giving due respect to Watterson's work, when newspapers were Watterson's preferred method of publishing.

What you will see is half of the film showing the narrator/director with his douchey, fresh-out-of-the-make-up-chair haircut in close-up head- shots pouring over comics like he just discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls. This documentary could have been so much better. I only hope the interviewees will sacrifice their time again when somebody with talent makes a serious effort in documenting what could be a fascinating subject.

Great delve into Calvin and Hobbes

[shane-716-514861 · 10/10 · 19 June 2013]

The documentary was a great delve into the world of Calvin and Hobbes. It's not just a fan flick about how great Calvin and Hobbes is, it also covers a lot of the behind the scene decisions made by Mr. Watterson. Things like refusing to do merchandising, were really fascinating.

Looking at how Calvin and Hobbes has transcended the times, and continues to be a hit with the newer market. That's just as interesting, as it's influence on other artists. Watching the interviews of other cartoonists were equally as interesting. The explanation of the whole syndication process, and everything that goes with it, I think might explain why Mr. Watterson left when he did.

All in all, I think the documentary was well put together. It had a personal aspect, it had a widespread aspect. It did a good job of wrapping everything together, to show the influences on both the creation, and ending of Calvin and Hobbes.

Stop making movies like this

[trainspotting · 1/10 · 29 August 2014]

This new trend in documentaries is very annoying.

Here is the formula about the person making the doc. They are not famous, they really liked or geeked out over something and now want to talk to like minded people and gush over the past and how something that was very good like "Calvin and Hobbes" made them feel and you really don't find out anything about the person or people involved in the thing they love. It is about a bunch of nobody fan boys.

Also refer to "Done the Impossible" for a another piece of garbage in this genre.

Mr. Watterson created a great comic strip years ago and is a very private person from what I have read. I would have liked to know more about him and less about the people who liked his comic strip.

A warm documentary concerning a very warm subject matter

[StevePulaski · 9/10 · 25 November 2013]

I discovered the Calvin and Hobbes comics around fourth grade, and by fifth grade, I owned every compilation book of the classic strip you could buy. I used to lug them to school, one of two at a time, and anxiously await silent reading time. While the other kids were perusing the often dull, airless endeavors that was children's fiction, I felt superior turning the bright, colorful pages of Calvin and Hobbes. One of the many reasons the strip registered with me was that each page housed an adventure you, yourself, felt like you were embarking on. I credit it and Jeff Smith's graphic novel Bone for getting me through elementary school.

Joel Allen Schroeder's Dear Mr. Watterson is an adventure all its own. A love-letter, a token of appreciation, a showcase, and a necessary film for the iconic comic strip that has gone on to live in a life confined to the pages of a book and old newspaper rather than all thinkable merchandize on cluttered store shelves. From the beginning of the film, it is recognized that Calvin and Hobbes is significant for many reasons but one is that writer and illustrator Bill Watterson has refused to license the material for fear of cheapening the name and the image.

This is an unheard of move where in the same world we have enough Garfield and Peanuts products to make your head spin. Look at those two popular strips and compare them to Calvin and Hobbes. The only difference is that the aforementioned comic strips have gone on to take other forms of life, from t-shirts, to toys, to advertising figures for different products, while the latter has stayed true to itself since the beginning. You've never seen it on anything besides book/newspaper pages and that's how it will hopefully stay.

For those unaware (there are some but very, very few, I presume), Calvin and Hobbes was a comic strip that ran for several years about an imaginative young boy named Calvin and his stuffed tiger named Hobbes and all the adventures they'd go on as a duo. They were inseparable, mainly because the comic portrayed Calvin as an odd young boy who was just going to be odd and not care what anyone thought about him. Hobbes, his loyal companion through it all, seemed to be the only one who "got" Calvin, and as a young boy, that's the best thing you could ask for.

Schroeder has an adventure of his own in this film. He travels to Chagrin Falls, Ohio, the hometown of the strip's creator Bill Watterson, to try and develop and understanding of the man's motivations for creating the comic. We see Chagrin Falls of a place that time hasn't seemed to affect, as the town's appearance, architecture, and development looks as if it has remained unchanged since its inception. Schroeder evens finds himself as the library, paging through the enormous collections of newspapers dating back to 1977, where Bill Watterson's earliest illustrations can be found.

The first half devotes itself to reminding us of the beauty and simplicity of the comic strip, while the second half tells us about Watterson's reclusiveness, the idea of licensing a product's name, and the future of comics as we know them. One of the best pieces of insight comes from a man named Stephen Pastis, who states that licensing effectively cheapens material that had the impact to utilize licensing in the first place. He explains how it's as if you become really close to a cousin and then, after years of a bond, he says something like, "oh yeah, I sell life insurance" (referencing MetLife's advertising campaign that utilized the Peanuts character). He continues by theorizing that Watterson's refusal to license stems from the idea of keeping control of one's original product. Film is a collaborative effort, as is an album, a book, and many other forms of media. A comic strip is your own personal thoughts, ideas, stories, and images captured on a piece of paper, and as soon as you give that simplicity up to cheap knick-knacks you lose all forms of control with the product and what's left is a once-respected product now overblown. Watterson's bold decision of not licensing the strip, without a doubt costing him millions of dollars in revenue, is definitely one of the reasons of the strip's long term success in an age where comics are overlooked and undervalued.

Schroeder shows us a typical Sunday paper, where the comics are a challenge to find, usually tampered or edited for space, printed and color-aligned poorly, and, above all, uninspired. The spacial limitations and poor treatment of comics in Sunday newspapers today holds back and greatly limits potential Bill Watterson's of the digital age, and nobody seems to really care.

The fact that Watterson has made the admirable decision of sacrificing temporary profits for lasting artistic purity and maintained a reclusive figure for much of his life is unfathomable in the world we inhabit today. However, take a look at what he inspired. The Calvin and Hobbes comic speaks for itself in an unconventional way, utilizing the characters, events, and situations in life children can relate to and an imaginative quality that doesn't disintegrate when one becomes older. Dear Mr. Watterson beautifully shows the impact and legacy the strip has come to behold, and articulates wholesomeness and innocence the beautiful way the strip itself did.

Directed by: Joel Allen Schroeder.

Piggy backing on a great product for his own purposes

[rlcigars2 · 1/10 · 26 May 2014]

I really should have stopped watching when the filmmaker said "I'm really not interested in Bill Watterson the man...", but alas I did not. This documents absolutely nothing about the promised subject matter. It focuses on a handful of fans that love the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes and why those individual love it. That would be a good start if we learned something about the strip, anything, but that is the all this movie does. Looking at the filmmaker's IMDb page my guess is that the underlying purpose of this movie is to showcase his skills and promote his services, he does many of the tasks required to make a documentary as a career choice - if this is the case as it appears to be, it's a shame he's using such a beloved and important piece of pop culture to promote his resume.

A Look at the Impact Rather Than the Strip Itself

[gavin6942 · 8/10 · 2 June 2014]

A documentary film about the impact of the newspaper comic strip Calvin & Hobbes, created by Bill Watterson.

First and foremost, it is important to stress that Bill Watterson is not in this documentary and the film is really not about Watterson himself. Instead, this is about the impact and life of its own that the strip took on -- Calvin and Hobbes are larger than life characters that transcend Watterson.

The cornerstone of this documentary is the trip to the Cleveland suburb of Chagrin Falls. We see the scenery and the mascot being the Tigers is no coincidence. The old drawings and photos in the basement are fascinating, and any die-hard fan of Watterson would have to visit this town.

What is most great is the praise from Bill Amend and Stephen Pastis, who made what could be called the only two great post-Calvin comic strips, "Fox Trot" and "Pearls Before Swine".

Great Subject...Poor Documentary

[GenevaDuck · 2/10 · 5 August 2014]

There is a great documentary waiting to be made about 'Calvin & Hobbes', but this isn't it. If this slow moving poorly paced film is supposed to be a love letter to Bill Watterson, I have a new appreciation of why he is such a recluse.

On the plus side, this film has interviews with several current cartoonists who discuss the legacy of 'Calvin & Hobbes' and the effects it had on the comic industry. However, they all seem to be saying the exact same thing with no one, except Berkley Breathed, having ever had any actual contact or communication with Watterson.

The film does touch on the topic of merchandising and the effect, both positive and negative, that it can have focusing on Bill Watterson not allowing C&H merchandising to occur. This subject could be a documentary all its own.

If You've Read The Comics, You've Seen This Movie

[christopher-cole83 · 3/10 · 14 June 2014]

I'm going to start this review by saying I am far from being the biggest "Calvin and Hobbes" fan in the world. Among comic strips, "Peanuts" is my first love. However, I do have a deep appreciation for the "Peanuts- esque" quality that is present in "Calvin and Hobbes", where the child sees the world through a unique lens that is evident there is wisdom beyond his years. Even the main character, a male child with a distinctive striped shirt, is a flattering nod that I can appreciate.

So, I watched this documentary more from the perspective that I am an outsider looking in, wanting to know what motivated the characters in the strip and the artist behind the characters. Sadly, I did not get much, if any, of these. In fact, I didn't learn anything that I didn't already know from even a cursory reading of the comics. It seems to me a documentary exploring the impact of a comic strip on the would have been better served by an exploration of the creator, Bill Watterson, and how the characters came about and what they say about him.

I understand that Watterson is very difficult to reach, and keeps mostly to himself. However, even from the perspective of someone who isn't a superfan, I think it's disingenuous to simply regurgitate what's already known. Besides, the filmmaker titled his documentary as an address to "Mr. Watterson." Seems to me that the documentary should have made the attempt to explore his story more.

One last thing I wish to mention, and that is the issue of licensing involved with the comic strip characters. Charles "Sparky" Schulz, the creator of "Peanuts", may have been just as difficult to really get to know and understand as Bill Watterson is, and it's evident by what is known about both men that the comics and characters they created were deeply personal to them, and each man wanted to protect their characters. However, Schulz still allowed his characters to be licensed, whereas Watterson famously does not. I don't know if this was the intention of the filmmaker, but it seemed like there was an unfair, and unjust, portrayal that "Sparky" sold out, and that Watterson stands on higher ground. I like how Schulz's wife Jean gave a little bit of insight into why her husband made the decision he did to license the characters, but still it seemed as though it was a shot at Charles Schulz's own legacy in order to build up Watterson's, and I am not convinced that Watterson would go so far as to criticize Schulz for doing that, especially considering the impact "Peanuts" had on "Calvin and Hobbes."

If you want fond memories of the strip, skip this documentary.

[jdlefogg · 1/10 · 2 December 2013]

I don't usually watch documentaries. Outside of the occasional History channel, it's very rare. But one about the creator of "Calvin & Hobbes" was surely something to be excited about, and could not miss. Despite a mixed review or two I read, I still sat down to watch it. And it was terribly uninspiring. The structure was lackluster, the timing drawn out, the narration flat. The interviews were good for the most part, but a lack of direction (for the doc, not tips from the director) made them seem endless and repetitive. This doc adds nothing new, tells us nothing new, and barely tells us anything old. It's as if we just gathered a bunch of people familiar with the strip, or comic strip coworkers, and a couple who knew Bill personally, and all sat down for drinks telling stories about "the time they all worked at the same shop". That's not worthy of a documentary feature. Maybe a podcast?

I tried sticking it out all the way through. I can count the number of movies I've intentionally stopped watching on one hand, the most recent being "Grown Ups", and now sadly, what started out as a promising endeavor, has become the next victim in that tragic statistic. If I was one of the kickstarter contributors, I would be disappointed. And I'd write that on my Calvin & Hobbes notepad next to the cut-out comic and the homemade envelope as it sits on top of the bookshelf holding the actual books. I hate being so negative about anything in regards to such a wonderful comic strip, but this documentary degrades, and my memories would've been better had I not seen it.

Absolute fan couldn't be more disappointed

[cpaeillo · 3/10 · 2 April 2024]

Calvin and Hobbes Lover for life wanted something more than a bunch of nobodies also saying how much they loved the comic. This piece of art personifies my child hood and expresses the imagination that we all want to feel. I wanted insights. I wanted ANYTHING from Bill Watterson. Nope. An hour and a half of people agreeing how awesome Calvin and Hobbes is. Of course it is awesome. It is one of a kind, it tran sends age and gives adults a window back to their childhood and their children's perspective now. Calvin would have lost interest in this five seconds into it and would have already been dreaming how spaceman spiff could have attacked the t.v.